There’s vertical thinking and learning; it’s industry focused, extremely relatable and it’s about following the groove left by others that have succeeded before you. The woman who wants to run her own marketing consultancy? She can talk to a thousand others who have done marketing consulting.
Many an entrepreneur sticks to vertical learning, but what if there’s fewer businesses out there that are similar to what you want to do? What if you’re trying to enter a highly competitive market where those in your industry don’t want to share their insights, don’t want you to grow, don’t want you in the pool?
That’s where horizontal learning come in.
I was on the phone with a co-owner of a cigar shop five states away that shared more applicable knowledge for opening a bar than some of those who have opened bars have shared. Once you realize that lessons from any industry can be applied to yours, it makes success that much more achievable.
It doesn’t matter if no one has done what you want to do before. It doesn’t matter if your competitors aren’t willing to lend you a hand. What matters is that you understand all there is to know (universal traits) about running a successful business.
You can figure out the industry-specific lessons through trial-and-error, and still succeed.
Stay Positive & There’s No Limit To What You Can Learn (And From Whom)
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